Pakistan: Gilani convicted but allowed to go free

Pakistan: Gilani convicted but allowed to go free

Pakistani security personnel stand guard outside the Supreme Court building during a hearing in Islamabad on Jan. 19, 2012.

Pakistan's Supreme Court today found Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani guilty of contempt of court but did not jail him, reported the Associated Press. It was a highly-anticipated ruling over a long-running corruption case pitting Gilani loyalists against government critics.

All this has led to confusion over the status of US-Pakistani relations, but given that Gilani is Pakistan's longest-serving prime minister, today's ruling is seen as a bid for stability, according to The Washington Post.

The ruling provides grounds for calls for Gilani's ousting, but with elections set for later this year, the chances of his dismissal -- a move AP said requires the speaker of the parliament and the election commission and could take up to four months -- is unlikely.

The prime minister, who is suspected of laundering bribes vis-a-vis Swiss bank accounts in a highly-politicized case that dates back to 2009, could have been dismissed from office or handed a six-month jail term, reported Australia's ABC News.